Incline Push-Up Close-Grip
An incline push-up with the hands set just inside shoulder width on a bench, loading chest and triceps.
How to do it
- Place your hands on a bench just inside shoulder width, thumbs not touching.
- Walk your feet back until the body is a straight line from head to heels.
- Brace the trunk and keep the elbows close to the ribs.
- Lower the chest toward the bench by bending the elbows.
- Stop just short of the pad, then press the bench away until the elbows straighten.
- Reset the plank if the hips sag, then repeat.
Key technique cue
Elbows close to the ribs, body a straight plank — lower toward the bench without touching it.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Flaring the elbows wide, which turns a close-grip press into a standard incline push-up.
- ✕ Letting the hips sag or pike, which breaks the plank the chest is supposed to press from.
- ✕ Setting the hands in a diamond, which often irritates the wrists.
- ✕ Choosing a bench so high that the press barely loads the arms.
Benefits
- ✓ The incline reduces load so beginners can keep a rigid plank and tucked elbows.
- ✓ A narrower hand set shifts more of the lockout onto the triceps than a wide push-up.
- ✓ Needs only a bench, so it scales from home to commercial gym floor work.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 You are here - Incline Push-Up Close-Grip
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Step 2 -
Step 3
About the exercise
Hands on a low bench turn a push-up into an incline press. Setting those hands just inside shoulder width, thumbs not touching, keeps the elbows closer to the ribs so the triceps share more of the lockout while the chest still drives the press. The higher the surface, the smaller the share of bodyweight; a shallow bench is still a real press, not a wall push-up. The body stays one line from head to heels.
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